The Slave Crown
by MarioLazar
Summary: At the beginning of Final Fantasy VI, the player sees Terra being controlled with a slave crown. But was she under the influence of the crown her whole life? What had caused her to be forced to wear the crown in the first place? T for language, violence.


**The Slave Crown**

At the beginning of Final Fantasy VI, the player sees Terra being controlled with a slave crown. It is later shown that Kefka had put that slave crown on Terra's head before she was sent on her mission to retrieve the Esper from the caves of Narshe. But was she under the control of that crown her whole life? What had caused her to become enslaved?

**Chapter 1: Beginning of a Revolution**

Emperor Gestahl tasted his own blood as he was flung from the entrance to the Land of Espers. Groaning and cursing, he picked himself back up and dusted himself off. He scanned the area; he immediately knew what had just happened. The Entrance had just been sealed off by the combined power of the Espers.

He also saw that most of his soldiers had already left the cave before he himself was forced out, and he was most pleased by what they had accomplished. A large number had caught a number of Espers, ranging from ones that controlled the elements of fire to ones that controlled the elements of ice. He had wished that the number of espers caught had been larger, but for now, this would have to suffice. He took a step forward to congratulate his men, but nearly stumbled over what had seemed to be a human woman. He hadn't noticed _her_ before. What in the _world_ was she doing here in a place like this?

He squatted and checked for a pulse, but as he did, he heard the cries of an infant. The body of the woman stirred, and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Please," she said weakly, "Take care of her..."

The Emperor couldn't comprehend what was going on at first. He then quickly noticed that _another_ Esper had been flung out of the cave leading to the Land of Espers with him. The creature, a few feet away, was reaching out to the human woman, trying to reach her.

Then, it dawned upon him.

"How... _most interesting!_" Gestahl exclaimed, looking from the human woman to male Esper, "A Human-Esper _hybrid!_ She would make a terrific addition to the army of my Empire! With this, and the Espers that I have caught, the world will be _mine!_"

"N-...No!" the woman exclaimed, trying to right herself and take her child back, "You can't! You just ca-"

The woman gasped as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looked down, gazing at the blade that the emperor had stuck through her. She staggered back, wincing, and fell back to the ground, gasping for air.

"Maduin..." she said weakly, looking at the Esper, "Maduin... please... do something..."

"Madeline..." the Esper groaned, "...No! _Madeline!_"

The Esper roared in anger and locked eyes with the emperor. He flung out his arms, charging up magical energy in his hands.

"Stop!" Gestahl ordered, "Stop, or they will lose their heads!"

The Esper gasped as he saw the human soldiers point their weapons at the captured Espers.

"You vile _bastard!_" the Esper snarled.

Maduin looked helplessly at the other Espers as he still held out his arms offensively. There was a quick moment of silence, but that was quickly interrupted by an icy blue Esper.

"Do it, Maduin!" the Esper exclaimed, "We can't allow them to abuse our powers! They'll destroy the human world as we know it!"

"Shiva!" Maduin replied, "Shiva... I don't-"

The other Espers roared the same command at Maduin, telling him to kill the emperor anyway. Maduin felt helpless. He couldn't decide whether to take him out or not. By himself, he knew he could take them all on; he was one of the most powerful Espers, the Guardian of the Realm himself. What they had told him to do was right, though. This world didn't deserve the pain and misery this man was about to put it through. He closed his eyes and started to charge up the strongest spell he had at his disposal...

"It truly is a shame!" Gestahl jeered, "Truly a shame that your beautiful baby daughter had to die!"

Gestahl pulled a dagger from his belt and made a motion to stab the sobbing child in his arms.

"**NO!**" Maduin cried. Gestahl stopped immediately and smiled cruelly at the Esper. Maduin couldn't do it... his precious girl was at stake...

"That's right..." Gestahl said lightly, "Surrender yourself to the Empire and your child will live. Surrender to _me,_ and she will live. So what will it be? Will you submit? Or will the blood of this hybrid fall to the ground like rain?"

Maduin flinched at the word "hybrid". His fists and jaws clenched tightly as he raised his hands into the air and dropped to his knees slowly. Gestahl nodded to the soldiers and ordered them to put him in chains. Maduin shook violently for a few seconds, then looked to the sky and fired every spell he knew into oblivion, raging as he did it, causing the soldiers to jump away in fear. Maduin then looked down and dropped his arms lifelessly.

_This is the end, _Maduin thought. He was brought in chains to a transportation device along with the other Espers. He couldn't look at them, not after what he did... All he could do was hang his head in shame and despair.

The emperor stepped forward towards the mic at the stand, approaching the people of the Gestahlian Empire. He smiled lightly and reassuringly at them all.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Gestahlian Empire!" he boomed with pride, "For hundreds of years, magic has been believed to be a fraud, a principle used in stories made for children, and the like... But today, I have a message to deliver to you all. Magic is _real_. One thousand years ago, there was a great war that nearly destroyed the world. That war may be familiar with some of you. It was known as the War of the Magi, a battle between the two conflicting races, humans and Espers. After the war ended, Espers simply vanished, and magic along with it. My parents, grandparents and ancestors before me had tried to solve the riddle of what had really happened to all the magic in the world.

"But, my people, I bring to you good tidings this day. The Land of the Espers has been _found,_" Gestahl continued as people everywhere gasped and stirred and whispered at what he had just announced. He lifted his arms to silence them.

"And while me and my escorts were at the location, we found living, breathing Espers and brought them back here with us," Gestahl said, and again, people stirred excitedly. He again silenced them.

"The specialists are going to be hard at work to try and figure out how to siphon their power so that they may be of use for our people and Empire," Gestahl said, "Their power will be applied to our technology to enhance it greatly. This has been a project I have set and planned on for months. We will use it to provide a better future for us all. I call it..."

He turned around and with a wave of his arm, the curtain on the wall behind him fell, revealing a giant word engraved into the wall that read, "Magitek."

The crowd erupted into applause at the sight of it. An orchestra bursted with the theme of the Empire. Gestahl smiled as he walked off the pedestal he was standing on. He went into his palace, leaving the people to cheer and applaud. He spotted one of his scientists, a man in a yellow coat. He approached him.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty," the man said cheerfully, "You have successfully began a new era of technology and set a new standard for our way of life."

"Oh, spare me the formalities, Cid," Gestahl replied, "Just because I'm emperor doesn't mean you can't call your old friend by name."

"Heh, I suppose you're right... Gestahl."

Gestahl's smile faded and his face turned serious. "Is your pupil ready for the procedure?" he asked quietly.

Cid's smile also faded. "He says he's more than ready," he said, "The look in his eyes also shows me he'd do anything to be the first one to be infused. I think that as my best student, he shouldn't go first. If something were to go awry, I would never forgive myself. I would hate for his life to go to waste."

"Yes, you do have a point," Gestahl said thoughtfully, "...But is it not his only dream in life as well? He has told me personally that he would always be the first to lay down his life for the Empire. If he were to figure out that he was not first in line, he may become most unamused, perhaps enough to leave your department Cid. Is that a risk that you are willing to take?"

For a moment, Cid did not speak. How could he? He knew his friend was right. Having his pupil leave Empire grounds would be most displeasing to His Majesty. He has much potential, so to speak. A brilliant mind, a rare mind that the Empire could use. But to be the first test subject to be infused with magic would be an extremely dangerous procedure. Errors could be made, mistakes could occur, and the consequences of which are unknown.

Finally, Cid came to a decision. "Very well," he decided in an almost regretful manner, "I'll inform him that the procedure could be done in two days. That's approximately how long it will take to extract magic from the test subjects."

Gestahl smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

Then, as he turned to make for his quarters, Cid asked, "Gestahl, word has spread among our researchers that you had found something else in the Land of the Espers. Would you care to elaborate as to what that is?"

Gestahl was dreading this moment. He had hoped to deal with this later, when he wasn't still exhausted from his return. Gestahl turned slowly leaned over to Cid's shoulder and whispered in a voice so low Cid could barely hear.

"Listen, Cid, and listen well. I believe I have found a mix in races, Cid. Half-human, half-Esper." Cid's eyes widened with shock.

"A human-Esper _hybrid?_" Cid breathed back. Gestahl nodded. "Where is it now?"

"In my quarters," the Emperor replied, "Now, you listen to me, and listen well. Word of this is _not _to spread about this occurrence. I trust you as my most trusted of friends to make sure that word does not get out. I found Espers, nothing else. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cid replied, "But, surely you can't raise a child with an agenda like yours. Would you like me to find someone who can?"

"That would be most appreciated."

"Alright, then," Cid said lightly, "I think I know just the right people who can, anyway,"


End file.
